The NCVER has released the latest VET statistics – Government-funded students and courses – January – September 2024 and the data is good news on many fronts.
There has been a 4% increase in government-funded students since 2023 and a 13% increase since 2019.
The data also reinforces what a key contributor the VET sector is to making Australia a more equitable society and offering people from under-represented groups a better chance in life. In 2024 almost 70,000 government-funded Indigenous students enrolled in VET, making up 7% of all government-funded students – and a 13% increase on 2019 figures.
VET also enrols growing numbers of students with disability. Nine percent of all government-funded students in 2024 reported a disability – an increase of 7% on 2019 enrolments.
And one-third of all students in government-funded VET were based in a regional or remote community – a 9% increase on 2019.
The only category of students from an identified equity group whose enrolments declined between 2019 and 2024 were those who are experiencing unemployment. In 2024, 16% of all government-funded VET students were unemployed, which was 11% lower than in 2019.
A key reason for this decline is the strength of the Australian labour market since the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2019 the ABS reported that the unemployment rate was 5.3%, with 718,000 people looking for work. By September 2024 the number of people looking for work had dropped to 621,000 – and the unemployment rate was 4.1%. Many people look to retrain as part of their efforts to find work and hence VET enrolments typically increase when unemployment rates are higher.
The NCVER data does not just focus on the students enrolled in VET and the courses they undertake. It also reports on who they study with.
Unsurprisingly, government-funded enrolments in TAFE have increased since the National Skills Agreement (with its emphasis on the TAFE sector) was signed – up 8% since 2023 to 550,510 students and an 11% increase since 2019.
This growth has not come at the expense of community and private providers though. While there was no increase in government-funded students in these providers between 2023 and 2024, at 462,015 students in September 2024 this was an 18% increase on 2019 levels.
Growth across states and territories between 2023 and 2024 varied: up by 6.8% in Western Australia, 3.9% in the Northern Territory, 3.6% in Victoria, 2.3% in Queensland and 0.5% in NSW. By contrast, government-funded enrolments were down -0.4% in Tasmania, -0.5% in South Australia and -19.2% in the ACT.
